Petronas to acquire renewable energy firm

UOB Kay Hian Research analyst Kong Ho Meng said while there have not been any large tenders awarded by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), it expected contracts to be rolled out from next year. In Malaysia, he said, about 11% or about 35 of the over 300 platforms have been operating for over 40 years, and more than 200 wells have already been identified to be plugged and abandoned.

PETALING JAYA: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) will soon mark its international foray into renewable energy once it completes the acquisition of Amplus Energy Solutions Pte Ltd, better known as M+ later this month.

The state-owned oil and gas (O&G) giant has entered into an agreement with I Squared Capital to acquire a 100% interest in M+, a leading Singapore-based company with a portfolio of distributed, renewable energy assets in Asia.

M+ specialises in end-to-end solutions for rooftop and ground-mounted solar power projects, catering to commercial and industrial customers.

The company, which was established 2013, has a cumulative capacity of over 500MW under operation and development, serving more than 150 commercial and industrial customers in over 200 locations across India, the Middle East and South-East Asia.

Petronas president and Group CEO Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said the acquisition reflects Petronas’ strategy to grow in the renewable energy space as part of its strategy to step out beyond O&G into the new energy business.

“This also represents our first international solar venture and we look forward to providing energy solutions to our customers in these high-growth energy markets,” he said in a statement yesterday.

I Squared Capital founding partner Gautam Bhandari said M+ has grown by over 400% annually under I Squared Capital to become a world-class, end-to-end company serving the corporates in Asia to reduce their greenhouse gases and combat climate change.

Meanwhile, Petronas is also working on a number of clean energy initiatives in Malaysia such as the joint development of large-scale solar photovoltaic power plants and on-campus energy optimisation and solar rooftop projects.

This will be done in collaboration with UiTM Holdings Sdn Bhd, the investment arm of Universiti Teknologi Mara.